Chapter 84

Kabil stared at me as if trying to bore a hole through my skull, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.

Then, a few seconds later, he started shrieking like a man who’d completely lost his mind.

“You! How dare you! My family clothed you, fed you, educated you! And this is how you repay us, you ungrateful wretch!”

Lycian’s expression, fixed on Kabil, turned chilling once more.

Sure enough, he muttered in a voice laced with killing intent.

“Perhaps I should slit his throat to shut that filthy mouth….”

No killing on my farm…!

I grabbed his hand tightly, trying to calm him down.

“It’s fine. Don’t dirty your hands any more.”

“…….”

Lycian gazed at me, his eyes unreadable.

Then he suddenly spread his arms and pulled me into a fierce embrace.

I flinched, blinking rapidly.

With his face buried against my shoulder, Lycian let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Alright. I’ll do as you wish, Muriel.”

“Mm….”

“If you ever feel like killing him, just say the word.”

“Y-yeah.”

Well, of course I always feel like killing him. But I’d better never let that show in front of Lycian.

After patting his back a couple of times, I gently pulled away and turned back to Kabil.

The pain of losing such an essential part of himself must have been unbearable—he was sobbing in a thoroughly pitiful heap.

I took a few steps toward him, keeping a safe distance, and looked down with a deliberately sympathetic expression. Then I spoke in a soothing tone.

“Don’t be too upset, Kabil.”

“Y-you….”

“You won’t die just because you lost that part.”

“You—how dare you…!”

“And honestly, wouldn’t the world be better off if your family line ended with you? Your father’s too old to remarry, and Juliet has her own… complications. Such a shame. Stay strong, Kabil.”

Kabil, who had been trembling with rage, flinched at my words and stared at me wide-eyed. His lips moved soundlessly before he rasped out a question.

“H-how do you know about… Juliet’s problem…?”

The knights who had been eavesdropping exchanged startled glances. It was only natural—this was something known solely to the direct bloodline of the Tierney family and their personal physician.

Tilting my head slightly, I answered in an intentionally sly tone.

“How do I know? Juliet took her anger out on me over it. She was yanking my hair and kicking me while I was down on the floor, screaming about it. How could I not know?”

Kabil’s eyes widened to the size of full moons.

I let my brows droop into an exaggerated look of pity and continued.

“I must’ve seemed so easy, so convenient, that she forgot all sense of caution. To spill even a secret that serious.”

“…….”

The color drained from Kabil’s face. On the verge of fainting, he still tried to threaten me through his stammering.

“Y-you… if you ever d-dare to spread that anywhere…! I’ll—!”

“You’ll what?”

Before I could retort further, Lycian cut in abruptly.

Kabil rolled his eyes toward him. Like a mouse before a snake, he began to shake uncontrollably—then collapsed, unconscious.

“Y-Young Master!”

“Lord Kabil…!”

The flustered knights rushed to surround him, darting glances our way as they searched for an escape route.

I had no intention of chasing them. So I glanced around at the guild members and Lycian and gave a slight shake of my head.

One of the knights quickly hoisted Kabil onto his back, and the group scrambled away, even dragging Maleia along as they fled.

Arms crossed, I watched the retreating backs of the defeated with mild indifference.

‘The Tierney family is about to be thrown into complete chaos.’

With their direct bloodline effectively severed, Duke Tierney must be losing his mind.

At his age, remarrying and producing another heir would be nearly impossible….

‘…Mm. Good. This is perfect.’

A satisfied smile curved my lips as I clapped slowly. It felt surprisingly cathartic.

Most gratifying of all was the fact that that bastard Kabil would never swing his lower half around again.

I could only hope this would bring at least a sliver of relief to those he had hurt….

‘…Though I can’t say I’m one hundred percent satisfied. I’d prefer the entire Tierney family reduced to rubble.’

“But if Juliet Tierney has a problem… then the marriage talks with the Roblet Crown Prince… isn’t that basically fraud…?”

…Right on cue, Camilla struck at the heart of it. I shrugged at her and replied.

“That’s exactly why Kabil panicked. If the Roblet Royal Family finds out Juliet has reproductive issues, all hell will break loose.”

A fraudulent marriage targeting the royal family—completely insane.

But if Juliet was pathologically obsessed with Crown Prince Fabian, that would explain why they were pushing it through at any cost.

If their only daughter was rampaging, threatening to kill herself if she couldn’t marry the Crown Prince, Duke Tierney probably felt he had no choice.

“He’s not just anyone—he’s the Crown Prince. What are they even thinking? Do they have some kind of plan?”

At Daphne’s words, I responded with equal bewilderment.

“Who knows? I don’t understand that part either.”

One day, at the right moment, it might be worth exposing Juliet’s secret. That is, if I ever got the chance to meet Crown Prince Fabian.

‘Still… that felt good.’

Smiling faintly, I dusted off my hands and looked around at everyone.

“First, let’s clean up this mess… and then discuss what to do next.”

“…Agreed.”

“Sounds good.”

“Yeees~! Let’s cover up those pools of blood with dirt before monsters start sniffing around!”

And so, after roughly concealing the traces of the fight….

The guild members, Lycian, and I gathered in a circle in the yard in front of the house and held a meeting.

“We should make the first move.”

It was Dante’s suggestion. Even Lycian, who was usually sharp toward him, nodded silently in agreement this time.

“We’ll wrap things up at the Vintzheim branch and return to headquarters. Better to strike first. Everyone on board?”

“Yeah.”

“Absolutely!”

“Our Guild Master’s reliable when it counts! His brain’s working at full throttle! Hahaha!”

I understood immediately that “striking first” meant controlling the narrative.

In simple terms, we needed to seize the upper hand before the Tierney family could spin this as our fault.

“We’ll have to head back to the branch right away… Mikhail, are you alright? You used a lot of mana in that fight earlier….”

At Allen’s thoughtful concern, Mikhail answered with a perfectly calm expression.

“What do you take me for? This is nothing.”

“That’s good to hear….”

…If it came to it, we could always ask Lycian for help, but no one seemed to have considered that option.

Then again, he wasn’t exactly the easiest person to ask for favors.

When I glanced at him cautiously, Lycian offered a gentle smile, as if to say, Go ahead, speak if you have something to say.

I just gave an awkward smile and shook my head.

After the meeting ended, the members of the Veratis Guild clustered around Mikhail.

They looked like a pack of meerkats. It was oddly cute and amusing. As I watched, Dante approached me and spoke quietly.

“It would be safer for you to leave this place as well, Miss Muriel. Come with us. Bring the animals too.”

I blinked silently, unable to hide the reluctance on my face.

“I suppose… that’s for the best, isn’t it?”

The thought of abandoning the farm I had worked so hard to build—and this lovely house—left an ache I couldn’t put into words.

I had finally found a space that was truly mine. A place where I could rest in peace and feel happy….

‘But there’s no helping it…. There’s a real chance those Tierney bastards will storm in and reduce this place to rubble.’

Just as I let out a long sigh, steeling myself to give it up—

“…!”

Startled, I flinched and my eyes flew wide open.

This… makes it the second time, doesn’t it?

‘Oh….’

I still had no idea what was going on, but for now, I did my best to look pitiful.

I even dabbed at my eyes with my sleeve. Actually making sobbing noises might look a bit too fake.

In any case, my acting must have worked….

A message that clearly looked helpful popped up!

And then—

‘Power that governs space and time…?’

Fwaah!

In a burst of brilliant light, a door as white as fresh snow appeared before me.

It stood about two meters tall, rectangular in shape, simple and unadorned.

And it radiated an aura that felt utterly otherworldly.

More system messages appeared in succession.